The Homecoming
by xjuuulesx
Summary: Monica and Chandler's son Jack comes home with some surprising news of his engagement, and to follow, and even more surprising turn of events.


"Chandler! Get up and scrub the windows, we have no time to sit around! Jack will be here in t minus _six_ minutes. _Hurry. Up_."

Monica scrambled around what looked to the average person like a perfectly clean house trying to get things in order. Chandler slowly got up from the couch and winced in pain, wondering how in the world his wife, being almost sixty, still had the energy to run around the way she did. Without question, he grabbed a rag and sauntered over to the windows and began scrubbing for the third time that evening. "Monica, honey, you just need to relax." Monica raised her eyebrows, but continued vigorously scrubbing the tile with a toothbrush at the same pace she had been for the last thirty minutes. "Chandler, _honey_ ," she said mockingly, "you should know after almost thirty years of marriage, telling me to relax has never worked." Chandler let out a sigh and continued washing. "I wonder what Jack's been doing, you know, outside of school and all. Do you think he's made any friends? Do you think he drinks a lot? Do you think he met a girl?! Oh my gosh, do you think maybe he's a _father_ —" "That bathroom is absolutely filthy; I think you should give it another look." Chandler always knew how to get Monica to shut up: give her another project. Sure enough, she scurried into the bathroom. But Chandler did begin to wonder what his son had been up to the past three years. Jack was a marine biologist studying in Australia and took part in a deep-sea exploration mission. He could have little contact with anyone outside the project, so his parents only received phone calls once a month or so, until the last year of the mission. He could only call once he returned to land to tell Monica and Chandler he was coming home.

The doorbell interrupted Chandler's thoughts and Monica came racing out of the bathroom. Without hesitation, she flung the door open to reveal a handsome man that, at first glance, Chandler hardly recognized to be his own son. "I've been waiting three whole years to see you! Look how good-looking you are!" Monica stepped into the hallway just as an elderly couple were walking by and shouted, "Hey! Look! This is my son, look how _handsome_ he is!" They picked up their pace and looked at her with the strangest expression, as most people did when she'd make a scene. Embarrassed, Jack chuckled and said, "okay, mom," and ushered her back inside. Chandler made sure to keep his cool, unlike his wife, and caught Jack in an embrace. "Hey buddy, I've missed ya. Why don't you have a seat? Your mom made homemade chocolate chip cookies if you want one…"

The three talked for hours, catching up on all the time they had missed with Jack, hearing of his adventures almost seven miles below land. "But that's not even the most exciting part," said Jack. "I met the most amazing girl." Monica waved her index finger in the air exclaiming, "I knew it!" as Chandler rolled his eyes. "Well, well," he said and grinned. "What's she like?" "Well, her name is Emma and she's from Paris," said Jack. Both parents looked at each other and nodded in approval. "I'd had my eyes on her for months. We met on the sub and she always had the most unusual but incredibly intelligent way of looking at things. She blew everyone's minds. I was fascinated with her… Just her perspectives on everything. Not to mention, she's practically the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. When she makes a discovery or gets enthusiastic about something her eyes light up like the lure of the Lophiiformes." Monica clutched her chest. "Oh, he's so romantic! Just like his father," she said and winked at Chandler. "How long have you been seeing each other?" she asked. "A little over a year now," Jack replied, "which is why I've asked her to marry me." Monica practically fell out of her chair. "You're _engaged_?!" Jack laughed and replied, "Yes, we are. We want to have the wedding soon though, because she'll be going back to Australia for another couple of months." Chandler could see Monica getting into a mental frenzy already. "Jack, there's so much to do! I mean, we have to find a venue, a planner, my God I bet you haven't even thought about a theme yet!" Jack said, "I think we're going to have a pretty small ceremony. Just with family. Although, her parents did offer to pay for a wedding in Paris, plus airfare for any guests. They're fairly wealthy." "So. When do we get to meet this girl?" Chandler asked. "When do we get to meet her parents?" Monica butted in. Jack let out a small sigh and thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I could give her a call and see if she could fly out soon." He picked up the phone and began to walk to the other room as Monica shouted after him, "And those parents!" She turned to Chandler and gripped each of his forearms with her fingers. "Chandler, isn't this amazing? Our son is getting _married_. We could be grandparents soon!" She flashed him that beautiful toothy white smile that sent feelings of nostalgia through his veins, remembering being young and having strange new feelings of love for his wife. He just grinned back at her and pulled her into his arms. Jack emerged from the bedroom. "Emma said they will fly out tomorrow, but it looks as though only she and her mother can make it because her father has some kind of a lecture to present. He's a professor at a big university and he's been engulfed in this project." "Well that's alright," Monica said, "we'll just be planning the wedding anyway."

"Mom, seriously, if you vacuum the couch one more time, I'm just going to get rid of it all together." Jack stood in front of an old mirror hanging on the wall and straightened his tie. "What kind of parents are we, Chandler? They're about to be married and we haven't even said a word to the bride's parents yet!" Chandler looked Monica with a puzzled expression. "Uhm, I haven't even met them yet," Jack said, "and I'm the one marrying their daughter." Monica's eyebrows seemed to unfurl and the concern faded off of her face. "Oh. Right. I knew that." Chandler looked down at the ground and shook his head as he patted her shoulder. "They're here," said Jack, who had been watching out the window. Monica looked up at Chandler with a nervous half smile. Jack opened the door and let in a lovely brunette girl, with a smile so similar to Monica's, and next, the woman who could only be Emma's mother. Monica squinted her eyes for a moment, then gasped. She took a couple steps closer. "Rachel Green?" she asked. The woman turned to face Monica with an element of surprise on her face. "Oh my God, Monica!"


End file.
